While the focus of most biotech investments is primarily the company’s lead compound, R&D pipeline and/or technology platform, the Chief Executive plays a very important role. While most CEOs have impressive resumes and CVs, we decided to offer our own brief Insight as to what relevant experience makes these leaders the right person to run their respective company.
ACADIA
Interim CEO: Steve Davis
Stephen R. Davis is President and CEO of ACAD. Mr. Davis joined ACAD in July 2014 as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer. He was appointed Interim CEO in March 2015 and President and CEO in September 2015. Mr. Davis brings over 20 years of executive-level experience in the pharmaceutical industry and more than 20 years of experience on the boards of directors of publicly held biopharmaceutical companies. Previously, Mr. Davis served as Executive Vice President and COO at Heron Therapeutics, Inc., Executive Vice President and COO at Ardea Biosciences, Inc., and in numerous executive roles at Neurogen Corporation, including CEO. Mr. Davis currently serves on the Board of Directors of Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Early in his career, Mr. Davis practiced as a Certified Public Accountant with a major accounting firm and as a corporate and securities attorney with a Wall Street law firm. Mr. Davis received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Southern Nazarene University and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University. Mr. Davis has begun to show his operational skills as his experience has helped lead a strong launch for the Company’s first drug Nuplazid.
ALAUNOS
CEO: Kevin S. Boyle, Sr.
Kevin S. Boyle, Sr., was appointed to be our Chief Executive Officer and a member of our board in August 2021. Prior to joining Alaunos, Mr. Boyle was CEO of Kuur Therapeutics (formerly known as Cell Medica Ltd.), leading the company through a successful transformation, culminating in a $185 million acquisition in May 2021 by Athenex (NASDAQ: ATNX). Mr. Boyle was at Kuur from 2018-2021. From 2008-2017 he served as Chief Financial Officer of various companies including FlowWorks International, Sigma3 Integrated Reservoir Solutions, RecoverCare and SPT Inc. Earlier in his career Mr. Boyle had finance roles with increasing levels of responsibility, leading businesses in competitive and transformative situations and delivering shareholder value. He is an accomplished capital markets professional raising over $2.0 billion in equity and debt capital over his career.
Mr. Boyle graduated with a BS from Carnegie Mellon University and a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.
ALKERMES
CEO: Richard Pops
Richard Pops joined Alkermes as CEO back in 1991, when we first met him. He has taken the company from a start-up of 25 employees to a global emerging biopharmaceutical firm with over 1,200 employees. With over 25 years experience, Pops is well-regarded as a strategic thinker with financial strengths, including his ability to form various key collaborations and make smart acquisitions. As a result, Alkermes’ commercial, R&D and financial condition all appear extremely solid.
BIOMARIN
CEO: Jean-Jacques Bienaimé
A staunch proponent of shareholder value, Mr. Bienaimé joined BioMarin as Chief Executive in 2005. With more than 25 years of industry experience, JJ has been at the helm and subsequently sold two successful biotech companies at significant valuations (Genencor sold to Danisco in 2005, and Sangstat sold to Genzyme in 2002). We first met Bienaime in 2009 after a rare BioMarin quarterly earnings miss and takeover rumors were swirling at the time. After that meeting, we realized that he was the ideal CEO and steadfast in his position to keep the Company independent. MTSL recommended the stock at that time, and Bienaime was the main reason for our call. Bienaime has been undoubtedly correct, as BioMarin has been the preeminent leader in the development of Orphan Drugs – a corporate strategy that many imitators have adopted of late.
CELLDEX
FOUNDER / CEO: Anthony S. Marucci
Mr. Marucci is a Founder of Celldex and serves as the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors. Prior to his appointment as President and CEO in 2008, Mr. Marucci served as Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Secretary of Celldex. Celldex, founded in 2004 as a subsidiary of Medarex (Medarex is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bristol Myers Squibb), was initially spun out as an independent private company in October 2005 with the asset acquisition of CDX-110 from Alteris Therapeutics, Inc. and the acquisition of Lorantis Limited (Cambridge, UK). In addition to these acquisitions, Mr. Marucci is also responsible for the AVANT Immunotherapeutics, Inc. and Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. merger completed during the first quarter of 2008 and the acquisition of CuraGen Corporation completed in the third quarter of 2009. He was Treasurer of Medarex from December 1998 to March 2004, where he held a series of senior financial positions since December 1998. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of BioNJ and also served as its Treasurer through 2010. Mr. Marucci received a B.S. in Accounting from Kean University, an MBA from Columbia University and an Executive Master of Healthcare Leadership (EMHL) from Brown University.
ESPERION
CEO: Tim Mayleben
Tim Mayleben is ESPR’s President and CEO and has been a member of the Board of Directors since February 2010. Prior to joining ESPR, Tim was President, CEO and a Director at Vericel Corporation, formerly Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: VCEL). Previously, Tim was President, Chief Operating Officer and a director of NightHawk Radiology Holdings, Inc. Prior to joining Nighthawk, Tim was the COO of the original Esperion, until its acquisition by Pfizer in 2004. Tim earned an MBA, with distinction, from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, and a BBA from the University of Michigan, Ross School of Business. We have a long track record working with Tim and have always been impressed with his ability to create shareholder value. Our previous recommendation of the original Esperion was bought by Pfizer for over a billion dollars and was a big winner for MTSL subscribers. Tim’s ability to attract a first class management team has allowed ESPR to create a comprehensive development program, for their lead drug candidate, BA. ESPR’s huge BA development program has been executed exactly how a Big Pharma would, and in our view, increases the drug candidate’s chance for success.
INCYTE
CEO: Hervé Hoppenot
Hervé Hoppenot joined Incyte in 2014 as President and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining Incyte, Mr. Hoppenot was the President of Novartis Oncology, where he was responsible for translational medicine, development, approval and commercialization, which included $11 billion in global sales, the largest oncology pipeline in the industry, and 8,000 employees in 50 countries. Mr. Hoppenot joined Novartis in 2003 and, in addition to his role as President, served as Chief Commercial Officer, Head of Global Product Strategy & Scientific Development, and Senior Vice President, Head of Global Marketing. He started his career in 1983 with Rhone Poulenc, later known as Aventis, where he served in several senior roles of increasing responsibility, including Vice President of Oncology and Head of the U.S. Oncology business unit. Mr. Hoppenot holds a Diploma from ESSEC International Business School.
IONIS PHARMACEUTICALS
CEO: Stanley Crooke
Dr. Stan Crooke is the Founder of IONIS and has been Chief Executive since its inception in the late-1980s. He is a one of the more prominent and also controversial figures in the biotech sector, and we have known Stan since IONIS went public in 1990. There are very few CEO’s who have built companies based on their own patents, remained CEO for over 25 years and have brought a drug from bench to bedside. The “Crooke†patents lie at the core of IONIS’ value, and the management team has done an impressive job of leveraging their strong IP into a slew of lucrative partnerships.
MADRIGAL PHARMACEUTICALS
Chairman & CEO: Paul A. Friedman, M.D.
Dr. Paul Friedman has been MDGL’s CEO since July 2016. Previously, Dr. Friedman served as the Chief Executive Officer and a Director of Incyte Corporation from November 2001 until his retirement in January 2014. From 1994 to 1998, Dr. Friedman served as President of R&D for the DuPont-Merck Pharmaceutical Company; and from 1998 to 2001 as President of DuPont Pharmaceuticals Research Laboratories, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the DuPont Company. From 1991 to 1994, he served as Senior Vice President at Merck Research Laboratories. Prior to his tenures at Merck and DuPont, Dr. Friedman was an Associate Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Friedman currently sits on the boards of Cerulean Pharma, Verastem, Incyte, and Gliknik. Dr. Friedman is a serially entrepreneur and has created significant value within the biopharma space multiple times. Specifically his unique ability to read and understand small molecule scaffolding has led to many successful drugs and drugs in development including Sustiva, Jakafi, Bari, IDO and the rest of INCY’s impressive early stage pipeline.
PACIRA
CEO: David Stack, M.D.
Dave Stack joined Pacira as CEO in 2007. Stack is evolving Pacira from a sustained-release injectable technology company into a fully integrated, acute care pharmaceutical company. From September 2001 to August 2004, Mr. Stack was President, CEO and a Director of the The Medicines Company (MDCO). The MDCO experience is quite relevant here — Stack successfully launched Angiomax into a competitive hospital marketplace. Like Exparel, Angiomax was a higher-priced alternative to existing therapies, but over time offered similar patient/physician and pharmacoeconomic advantages as Exparel. And likewise, Angiomax’s launch strategy was tiered with customer target groups, staggered published clinical data and subsequent acceptance by insurance providers. One big difference – the potential market for Exparel is sizably larger than that of Angiomax. Previously at Roche, Mr. Stack also remains President and General Partner of Stack Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a firm assisting emerging healthcare companies in the commercialization of their products since 1998.
PLx Pharma
President, CEO & Board Member: Natasha Giordano
Ms. Giordano is our President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director since January 2016. She brings over 25 years of extensive experience in healthcare, including senior leadership positions and Board Director roles spanning across several pharmaceutical companies and sales and marketing service providers. Ms. Giordano has served as Board Director for Matinas BioPharma since September 2020, and previously served as Board Director for Aceto Corporation from December 2011 through October 2019. Ms. Giordano served as the Chief Executive Officer of ClearPoint Learning, Inc. in 2015 and she served on the ClearPoint Board of Directors from December 2009 through November 2015. Previously, Ms. Giordano served as the Chief Executive Officer of Healthcare Corporation of America in 2014. From June 2009 to August 2012, Ms. Giordano served as Chief Operating Officer and then as Chief Executive Officer, President, and a member of the board of directors of Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a branded specialty pharmaceutical company with development and commercial capabilities focused on pain management and women’s health. Prior to that, she served as President, Americas, for Cegedim Dendrite (formerly Dendrite International Inc.) from 2007 to 2008 and as Senior Vice President of the Global Customer Business Unit of Cegedim Dendrite from 2004 to 2007. She had been with Cegedim Dendrite since 2000 and served as Group President for the Global Business Unit, and Vice President of Global Sales. Earlier in her career, she worked for 9 years with Parke-Davis/Warner Lambert and then Pfizer in several sales and marketing leadership positions, including Strategic Alliance management and Sales Integration. Ms. Giordano holds a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from Wagner College.
PRECIGEN
President & CEO: Dr. Helen Sabzevari
Dr. Helen Sabzevari is president and CEO of Precigen, Inc. and is responsible for all aspects of the company’s leadership. Precigen is a dedicated discovery and clinical stage biopharmaceutical company advancing the next generation of gene and cellular therapies using precision immunology to target the most urgent and intractable diseases in immuno-oncology, autoimmune disorders, and infectious disease. Dr. Sabzevari was previously co-founder and chief scientific officer of Compass Therapeutics where she led discovery and early development for the company in the areas of immuno-oncology and autoimmune diseases. Prior to Compass Therapeutics, Dr. Sabzevari was senior vice president of immuno-oncology at Merck Serono (a subsidiary of Merck KGaA), where she led the immuno-oncology discovery and early development translational innovation platform. Dr. Sabzevari is internationally recognized for her work in the field of immuno-oncology. Her contributions in the field of tumor immunology earned her the National Institutes of Health (NIH) merit award for major contribution to the field of cancer immunotherapy. She has been the recipient of Mass High Tech’s Women to Watch Award and the PharmaVOICE 100 Award. Prior to joining Merck Serono, she served as head of the molecular immunology group at the Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology at the US National Cancer Institute (LTIB-NCI), where she led a translational research program with the goals of design, development and delivery of novel vaccines and immunotherapies for a range of human cancers. Dr. Sabzevari received her doctorate degree in cell and molecular immunology and completed her postdoctoral work at the department of immunology at the Scripps Research Institute working on various immunotherapeutic modalities in the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases.
SANGAMO
CEO: Sandy Macrae
Sandy Macrae, M.B., Ch.B., Ph.D., has served as Sangamo’s President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors since June 2016. He has twenty years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry most recently serving as the Global Medical Officer of Takeda Pharmaceuticals, from 2012 to March 2016, where he established and led the Global Medical Office, which encompasses medical affairs, regulatory affairs, pharmacovigilance, outcomes research and epidemiology, quantitative sciences and knowledge and informatics. From 2001 to 2012, Dr. Macrae held roles of increasing responsibility at GlaxoSmithKline, including Senior Vice President, Emerging Markets Research and Development (R&D), from 2009 to 2012. In that position, he provided expertise and resources to create a first-of-its-kind group to expand GSK’s global reach by providing R&D strategies, clinical development and regulatory resources to enter emerging markets and Asia-Pacific. From 2007 to 2008, he was Vice President, Business Development. In that position, he was responsible for scientific assessment and business development project leadership for the neurology, psychiatry, cardiovascular and metabolic therapeutic areas. Earlier in his career, he worked for SmithKline Beecham, where he was responsible for clinical development in the therapeutic areas of neurology and gastroenterology. Dr. Macrae received his B.Sc. in pharmacology and his M.B., Ch.B. with honors from Glasgow University. He is a member of the Royal College of Physicians. Dr. Macrae also earned his Ph.D. in molecular genomics at King’s College, Cambridge.
THORNE
Chairman and CEO: Paul Jacobson
Paul Jacobson has served as our co-founder, Chief Executive Officer, and on our board of directors since 2010. He has also served as co-founder, Chief Executive Officer and on the board of directors for Company subsidiaries, including Thorne Research Inc., Health Elements, LLC and WellnessFX, Inc. since 2010. In addition, he has served on the board of directors for Tecton Group, LLC since 2020, and from 2017 to 2020, he served on the board of directors for Drawbridge Health, Inc. Prior to joining our company, Mr. Jacobson was on the board of directors for Progenics Pharmaceuticals and a Partner and Co-head of the Liquid Capital Markets Department at Goldman Sachs. He holds an M.B.A. from Washington University in Saint Louis and a B.A. in English and Economics from Vanderbilt University. We believe Mr. Jacobson is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive history with us and his business experience in investment banking and finance.
VAXART
President & CEO: Andrei Floroiu
VXRT has a new CEO Andrei Floroiu, appointed also in June. Mr. Floroiu is a highly experienced biopharma executive with a proven track record of value creation, with substantial financial, strategic and operational experience in the vaccine and biopharmaceutical industry. Mr. Floroiu was most recently with Agenus (AGEN), an immuno-oncology and vaccine pioneer, where he held executive positions and was responsible for structuring strategic partnerships and other transactions, including the origination and execution of a $115 million royalty transaction based on GSK’s Shingrix vaccine. With the new cash and excitement being generated by rAd5, additional senior management positions from highly qualified experts are very likely. Given the unique attributes of an oral vaccine and new management’s success in forming value-added collaborations, there is a possibility that VXRT signs numerous partnerships with individual European/Asian countries for proprietary access.
VIKING THERAPEUTICS
President and CEO: Brian Lian, Ph.D.
Dr. Lian serves as our President and Chief Executive Officer, and as a director. Prior to founding Viking Therapeutics, he was a Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, where he was responsible for coverage of small and mid-cap biotechnology companies with an emphasis on the diabetes, oncology, infectious disease, and neurology spaces. Prior to SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, he was an Executive Director and Senior Biotechnology Analyst at CIBC World Markets, responsible for coverage of mid and small-cap biopharmaceutical companies. Prior to his career in equity research, he was a research scientist in small molecule drug discovery at Amgen, focused on cancer and endocrine diseases. Prior to Amgen, he was a research scientist at Microcide Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Lian holds an MBA in accounting and finance from Indiana University, an M.S. and Ph.D. in organic chemistry from The University of Michigan, and a BA in chemistry from Whitman College.